1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a device for adapting a valve handle for mounting from selected ones of different valve stems which project different distances from the front surfaces of respective walls behind which the valve plumbing is disposed.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Valves of the type utilized to control water flow to shower heads and tub faucet spouts are typically housed in valve bodies disposed behind the shower wall, the extremity of the stem projecting a distance from the front surface of the wall determined by the location of the plumbing relative to the wall, the length of the valve stem and the overall wall thickness, including any tile or covering on such wall. There have been established no generally accepted set of standards in the plumbing industry for setting the length or configuration of valve stems, the distance valve stems project from the wall upon installation or even the configuration of the broach at the end of the valve stem. Thus, when a valve stem or valve itself becomes damaged necessitating replacement thereof, it is not unusual that the local plumbing store does not stock the particular style of stem incorporated in the original valve. This is particularly true for older plumbing wherein the manufacturer may have discontinued production or totally changed its design. Likewise, there are no generally accepted standards for handle configuration thus frequently requiring the handle and stem to be replaced as a unit in order to mate the handle with the new stem. This then often leads to the replacement of both the hot and cold handles such that the resultant installation will exhibit handles of the same design to thus present an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Thus, there exists a need for a faucet adaptor which will adapt a handle for mounting on valve stems of various configurations and which will accommodate stems which are installed with various different degrees of projection and which will present an aesthetic appearance upon installation.
Various efforts have been made to solve these problems in the past. One such effort led to the proposal of an escutcheon for surrounding the bonnet of a valve projecting through the wall and formed on its free extremity with a hexagonal socket for receipt of a complementally formed boss included in a tube intended for mounting to project in one direction or the other from the extremity of the escutcheon. The sleeve is internally threaded for screwing onto the valve nipple. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,888 to Anthony. Devices of this type, while satisfactory for their intended purpose, suffer the shortcoming that their adaptation to various installations is extremely limited. That is, different shroud tubes must be stocked for each particular size of valve nipple and the construction of the tube and escutcheon is relatively complex and thus expensive to manufacture.
Other efforts have led to the proposal of a plurality of stem extensions constructed of different lengths and configurations. These extenders are formed on one end with a boss defining a broach socket for receipt over the broach at the end of a valve stem and formed on their opposite ends with a broach for direct receipt in the broach socket of a handle. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,582,116 to Young. Such extenders, while satisfactory for limited usage, suffer the shortcoming that they only have limited application, and are typically dedicated to the design of a specific manufacturer, thus requiring stocking of stem extenders of numerous different socket configurations and lengths in order to accommodate various configurations of installation. It has proven relatively impractical for a retailer to stock a sufficient supply of the numerous various configurations to make use practical. Also, the expense of manufacturing and stocking a full set of extenders is considerable. Furthermore, a do-it-yourselfer visiting his local retailer is faced with the problem of endeavoring to select the specific length and configuration of adpator for his particular installation and with the dilemma that failure to purchase a sufficient number of configurations of extenders to enable a realistic trial and error installation will typically lead to another trip to the plumbing store to purchase further configurations or, at least, to return those particular extenders which his trial and error efforts proved were unsatisfactory for the installation.
Other efforts have led to the proposal that specially designed faucet handles be formed on their interior with hexagonal sockets for receipt of respective hexagonal nuts formed on the respective one ends of respective differently sized and configured adaptors. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,673 to Bondar. Such a device, while providing adaptation of a handle of special design to various installations, suffers the shortcoming of failing to provide for accommodation of handles of conventional design and in requiring stocking of a great number of relatively expensive adaptors in order to accommodate the large variety of stems and handles currently on the market and in use in the field.
Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a faucet handle adaptor kit which is configured for use with conventional handle and which is itself adaptable to mounting on valve stem broaches of numerous different configurations.